Bitten by the Love Bug
by Merlyn
Summary: [Completed - Updated 28.03.02] Snape is acting odd, being nice to the students, but why? I'm not telling you, read and find out
1. Realisation

**'Harry Potter' © 1997 to Joanne Kathleen Rowling,** all rights reserved. Infringement of copyright acknowledged.

Bitten by the Love Bug

Chapter One  
Realisation

"Potter!" Snape called. "Potter!" He shook Harry's shoulder. Harry suddenly jerked awake. 

"Sorry." Harry mumbled sleepily. He was exhausted, Katie Bell, the new Gryffindor Team Captain, was working the team harder than Oliver Wood ever did. 

"You shouldn't be sleeping in my lesson, five points from Gryffindor." Snape walked back to the front of the room. 

"Today, we sorry were going to look at the Draught of Living Death, but," He looked at Harry. "Circumstances being what they are I have decided to teach you verbally." Snape turned to the black board and wrote the date, the class sniggered and Hermione's hand shot in the air. 

"Miss Granger?" Snape said without turning round. 

"It's the 23rd not the 20th." 

"Just testing." Snape replied as he changed the date. "Who can tell me what two plants make the Draught of Living Death." To no one's surprise, Hermione's hand shot in the air once more. "Someone other than Miss Granger." No one else volunteered an answer. Snape sighed and sat down. He looked at the class; the recent addition of glasses magnified his cold black eyes. 

"You are all intelligent, in fact your one of the most intelligent groups I've ever taught. So someone tell me why only one person ever volunteers an answer." They looked at each other. "See what I mean? You all know the work, many of you know the answer but your just too lazy to put your hand and tell me. I won't bite your head off if it's wrong." Harry would not count on that. "Do I have to start picking on people to answer?" Still no one answered him. "Very well. Longbottom." 

"Asphodel and" Neville faulted 

"It's a kind of wood." Neville's round face still looked blank. "Long thin wriggley thing." 

"Wormwood." He said finally. 

"Well done. See if Mr Longbottom can answer a question correctly so can you all." He stood up, turned to the board and wrote that down. "Malfoy, what part of the asphodel do I use?" 

"Dunno." Malfoy replied shrugging his shoulders. 

"Try." 

"Dunno." Malfoy replied again. 

"If you don't answer, guess if you have to, I will take five points from Slytherin." Harry saw Malfoy look at Snape in amazement. Harry could not blame him, Snape threatening to take points of his own house and actually being sort-of nice to the class was something incredible. 

"You can't do that!" Malfoy answered in shock. 

"I am teacher, I can and will if I have to." 

"But Slytherin's your house!" 

"I know that!" Snape was becoming impatient. "What part of the asphodel do I use?" 

"You can't pick on me." Malfoy told Snape slyly. 

"Five points from Slytherin." Malfoy gasped and so did many of the Gryffindor's. "Fininigan what part of the asphodel do I use?" 

"The roots." Seamus answered. Snape scribbled that down on the board. 

"Malfoy, what do I have to do to the roots?" 

"You can't keep picking on me." Harry could not understand it why Snape just did not lose his temper with Malfoy. "I'll tell my father that you're victimising me." 

"I'm not afraid of your father." Malfoy glared at Snape."Now then Mr Malfoy what do I have to do to the roots?" 

"Powder them." Malfoy replied sulkily. 

"See you do know that answer." He scribbled that on the board. 

The lesson continued in this way right until five minutes before the lunch bell. 

"Homework!" Snape called. "I want your to right a detailed summery using the notes on the board about the Draught of Living Death, to be handed in next lesson." 

The class left the dungeon all talking about their lesson. 

"What do you reckons up with Snape?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table for lunch. 

"If Wales had won the Quidditch World cup I'd say that, but otherwise I don't have clue what's up with him." Wales had got to the semi-finals and then been knocked out by Bulgaria. 

* * * 

"Snape's acting really weird." Fred Weasley said to Harry when they met outside the portrait hole. 

"I know." Harry replied. 

"Maybe he's glad that Percy's finally left!" George did sort of a celebratory dance and they all laughed. 

"Who's acting weird." Came the strict Scottish voice of Professor McGonagall. Minerva McGonagall was the head of Gryffindor and transfiguration teacher; she was strict and clever, like Snape, not a teacher to cross. 

"Professor Snape." Fred replied cheekily. 

"Yeah, he was actually being nice to us." George backed up. 

"That's enough! Go into to the common room." 

"Yes miss." They scurried through the portrait hole. Once into the Gryffindor common room they fell into fits of laughter. 

Outside Professor McGonagall chuckled to herself. Yes, Severus Snape was acting strange, this morning he had said good morning in a rather cheery way, not his normal stiff way. She shook her head and headed towards the staff room. 

"Severus, I've just had a rather interesting report from some of my Gryffindor's." McGonagall said as she sat down next to him. 

"What sort of report?" He asked. 

"One that said you were actually being nice to your classes." 

"Being nice! Me being nice to a class!" 

"I only know one reason why you would be acting nice." Professor Flitwick piped up, using a mysterious voice. "You've been bitten by" He paused dramatically. "The love bug!" They all laughed. 

"So who's the lucky lady." Professor Sprout asked as she poured the kettle. "Anyone we know?" 

"No." Snape had gone a bright shade of red. "I'm not telling you." 

"Oh come on!" McGonagall said. "Tell us." A chorus of yeah' and go on' followed her demand. 

"No." 

"If you don't tell us I'll follow you to the bathroom." 

"That's fine with me Professor McGonagall." 

"Give us a clue!" Professor Sinsitra's Irish voice floated over the other mutterings from the staff. 

"No." 

"Is she Welsh?" Flitwick asked. 

"Yes." 

"Older or younger than you?" McGonagall asked. 

"The same age." 

"Did she go to Hogwarts?" Sinsitra asked 

"Yes." 

"What house?" 

"What is this the Spanish Inquisition!" The staff glared at him. "Ravenclaw." 

"We can't guess from those! Who is she?" McGonagall was getting impatient. 

"Did I say it was a she?" Snape grinned. Professor McGonagall hit him round the head with the newspaper knocking his glasses askew. "All right!" He said correcting his glasses. "It is a she, but I am afraid you'll have to keep guessing." 

"That's easy!" Professor Binns replied. "I'll just go through all the student records from the time you were at Hogwarts and find the name of you Welsh girl friend." 

"How will you do that? The records don't tell you nationality, and if you think you will remember an accent, unlike me she doesn't have one." The staff groaned. 

"There's only one thing left Minerva, you'll have to follow him." Flitwick said. 

"That's fine with me, follow me all year if you have to, but I'm not telling you!" 

"How about we tickle him!" Professor Sprout conjured up a giant pink feather duster. 

"I'm not ticklish. I am not telling you, yet. I'll tell when our relationship becomes more definite." Snape stood up and headed for the staff room door. 

"Were are you off to?" 

"My office, to get away from the Spanish Inquisition." Snape left the staff room at a run in order to get away from the questions. There was no way they were going to find out, they would have to wait to find out who she was. 


	2. Revelation

**'Harry Potter' © 1997 to Joanne Kathleen Rowling,** all rights reserved. Infringement of copyright acknowledged.

Bitten by the Love Bug

Chapter Two  
Revelation

Professor Minerva McGonagall strode down the cold, damp deserted corridor. It was just past six o'clock in the evening, so many of the students were in their common rooms or the library. Her sharp beady eyes spotted a small brown leather object, lying peacefully on the floor. 

"What will they leave next?" She muttered to herself. She was exasperated with first years leaving things around the castle. She had half a mind to remove house points from the owner of the object. She bent down to retrieve it off the stone floor, upon closer inspection she discovered a small golden Dragon embodied on the leather wallet. Now, either these wallets' had suddenly become popular or the person she suspected it belonged to had dropped it. 

McGonagall flipped open the wallet. Inside was about twelve Galleons in paper and three Knuts in coin, a photograph of an extremely beautiful, red haired woman. McGonagall recognised the photograph, but at that, moment could not but a name to it. The driver's licence, Wizarding licence and Potions licence's all summed up whom she suspected the wallet to belong to. Severus Snape. 

A charismatic mischievous little voice in her head whispered Look at that, a picture of Severus' girlfriend. The staff would just die to see it! Why don't you put them out of their misery? Another voice, however, replied What! Are you CRAZY!?! He would die of embarrassment, or he would kill you! 

"Shut up." She said out-loud. Why was she talking to herself? Oh, the things people do whenever they are faced with a tough decision. What did it matter if the staff found out a little prematurely about whom Severus' girlfriend was? Oh well, if all went wrong it would be on her head. She pocketed Snape's wallet and sauntered off in the direction of the staff room. 

* * * 

Severus Snape sat humming to himself whilst he marked Fourth Year exam papers. He looked down at the paper he was currently in the middle of marking, Neville Longbottom's. Neville had not done very well, but feeling generous he gave Neville three points for effort, at least he had tried to make his work presentable. Draco Malfoy on the other hand was a different story, now, Snape had to admit that he was not the neatest writer in the world, but even he did not smudge his work this much! He made a mental note to speak to Professor Dumbledore about Draco Malfoy's attitude to work. 

* * * 

"People, people." Professor McGonagall stood on a rickety old chair. "I have a very important announcement to make." The staff fell silent and all looked intently at each her. "I have discovered who our beloved youngest member of staff's, mysterious girlfriend is." 

"Who is it?" The staff chorused in one voice. 

"Patient. Truth is I have a photograph of her, but sadly I cannot for the world of me remember her name." Professor Sinsitra helped her down off the chair. 

"Let me see." Professor Binns said floating over. She showed him the photograph. "Ah, yes. Guinevere Jones, a muggle born." Now he mentioned it McGonagall did notice that photograph was not moving. 

"The lucky devil!" Professor Marcus Edwards, the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. "Guinevere Jones was the most beautiful woman in our year, every red bloodied male fancied her." The staff room door creaked open and none other than Severus Snape himself walked in. 

The staff turned round, an evil grin spread across each one of their faces. They did not say a word, just stared at Snape. He was wearing trousers and a shirt, not his usual robes; this was because he was going home for the Easter Holidays. 

"What?" He asked. Why was the staff looking at him like that? "Is my fly open or something?" 

"No." McGonagall replied (he checked anyway). "We've just discovered who your girlfriend is." Was she imagining it or did Snape look suddenly afraid? 

"You have?" He stammered nervously. 

"Yes. Guinevere Jones." Professor Sprout replied. Snape looked almost relieved. 

"Why didn't you tell us!" Professor Binns shouted, a mummer of yeah' echoed round the panelled room. 

"Because." He was nervous again. "Because I wasn't sure whether it was definite." 

"Severus! Guinevere Jones! You lucky devil!" Professor Edwards gasped. 

"If I had told you, you would have been jealous." 

"Too right!" 

"I think." Professor Flitwick called. "That we should leave him alone until he gets back from Wales." 

"Yeah!" Professor Sinsitra shouted 

"Then he can tell us all about his half term!" Professor Edwards added joyfully. 

"Are you sure you'll want to hear about it?" Snape replied silkily. 

"Severus!" McGonagall gasped. "I though you didn't believe in sex before marriage!" 

"Well I've been married, twice in fact." He grinned mischievously. Professor McGonagall took aim ready to hit him with the rolled up newspaper he ducked quickly. 

"Severus, the train has arrived." Professor Dumbledore appeared in the doorway. "I do hope you don't mind being stuck with a load of kids." 

"Not at all, headmaster. See after Easter!" He shouted as he left the staff room. 

"Have a Happy Easter!" The staff called back. 

"Don't exhaust yourself!" Professor Edwards called. There was a whack and Professor Edwards swore. "Don't hit me!" He pleaded, covering his head as Professor McGonagall aimed again. 

* * * 

_6 months later_

Everyone had to admit that Professor Snape was a lot more fun these days. No one knew exactly why though, but there were plenty of rumours, many of them put around by Draco Malfoy. 

"My father said if Snape didn't cheer up a bit, he would expose Dumbledore for what he really is." Draco Malfoy said loudly one December 23. Some of the Slytherins laughed, not many though as most of them thought that Dumbledore was a good headmaster. 

"Why do you think Snape's acting nice." Ron Weasley asked Harry Potter. 

"Dunno, maybe Dumbledore's threatened to sack him if he isn't nice." Harry replied. 

"He wouldn't be that nice though." Hermione Granger muttered. Professor Dumbledore stood up and waved for silence. 

"I have a small announcement to make. Today is the birthday of our beloved Potions master, Professor Snape. I won't tell you how old he is though. So I am sure you will all join me in wishing him a very happy birthday." Dumbledore sat down again. 

At that moment, the post arrived. A slender Merlyn Owl flew towards the staff table and dropped a note on Professor Snape's head. 

"A letter from your lover." McGonagall enquired. 

"Probably the dry cleaning bill." Professor Edwards put in. This time McGonagall's aim was true. "I'm going have brain damage soon!" Edwards muttered rubbing his head. 

Snape went pale and he just stared at the letter he had just read. Tears formed in his eyes. 

"Could you excuse me?" He muttered his voice racked with emotion. Before any of the staff could reply he ran out of the hall, leaving the letter where it had fallen out of his hand onto the floor. McGonagall bent down and read the first line. 

_Severus, I am sorry to inform you that our relationship is over. _

"Oh no." She said, picking up the letter. 

"Go and see if he's all right." Dumbledore whispered in her ear. She nodded and left the staff table. 

She hurried down to Snape's office. She knocked softy on the door, no answer. Slowly she pushed the door open. Snape was not in his office; she was about to leave when she heard sobbing coming from the bedroom. 

"Severus?" She pushed open the bedroom door. Snape was lying on his bed, crying. "Oh Severus." She rushed forward and put her arms round him in a hug. "I'm so sorry." He did not reply just continued to sob into her robes. She could not help crying also; she had never seen Snape this upset before. 

They sat quietly for over ten minutes. 

"Severus, if someone could be that mean, then she didn't deserve you." He got up off the bed and walked over to the window. 

"It wasn't a she." He said softly. Was McGonagall's hearing going in her soft age? Surly he did not just say 

"I'm sorry, I think I misheard. Did you just say she wasn't a she?" 

"Yes." 

"Severus!" She gasped in amazement. "Of all the people." 

"Think about it logically." He sat back down again. "I have had a bad time with women." 

"Yes, but you've been married!" McGonagall could not believe this. 

"Even then I didn't feel comfortable. I thought it was because we didn't have any kids, but when we did I still felt uncomfortable." 

"I'm not hearing this." 

"Professor," He pleaded with her. 

"Did you feel comfortable with" 

"Huw. And yes, I felt more comfortable than when I had ever done in my life." 

"Are you going to tell Dumbledore?" She asked, all ready knowing the answer. 

"I don't know. If I told Dumbledore would he have to tell the governors?" 

"Probably." 

"That would be the end of my job." 

"No it wouldn't," 

"It would, homosexuality is still feared by our people, the way muggles feared magic back in the 15th Century." 

"You can't guarantee that's what will happen." She took his hand. 

"I don't even want to risk it. You can keep a secret?" He asked. 

"Yes. Don't worry I won't tell anyone." 

"Thank you." McGonagall took the note out of her pocket, placed her wand on it and muttered a few well-chosen words. The note smouldered and then burst into flames. 

"Why did you have a photograph of Guinerve Jones in your wallet?" 

"Don't you remember? I went out with her after Catrin* left me." 

"Of course." It all made sense now. "I'll tell Dumbledore that you're not well." She left the bedroom and closed the door behind her. No wonder Snape did not want to tell them. In a way, she almost felt sorry for him. 

* * * 

"Longbottom!" Snape spat. "How many times do I have to tell you?" Snape was back to his normal nasty self. In a way this was the way many people preferred it, the Snape being nice era had been a bit freaky. 

"It was nice while it lasted." Harry Potter muttered to his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. 

"Yeah." They agreed. Everything was back to normal, well as normal as things were at Hogwarts. 


End file.
